Wednesday, February 22, 2006

My grades are due when? Already? How can it be mid-quarter ALL READY?!Sigh.So, where do we stand right now? Two productions coming up, impossible demands being made, one idiot teacher trying to live up to those demands (guesses on a name, folks?), and one district cutting funds which could be trouble for non-tenured teachers (you know, like me).Let's get to the ramblings.So, without further ado: ROSEBUD!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lost Weekend:Now, I have proof that my wife does not read my blog. As you'll recall (or not), I purchased a massage for my wife for Valentine's Day. Now, I told you, dear reader, and I told my wife she would get a surprise on Saturday, but I did not tell her what. That was to be her Saturday morning.So, even though it was the weekend, and even though we could have slept in late, my wife and I arose around 7:30. That's right: we got up early on a Saturday (THE HORROR!!!!) and made our way to downtown Minneapolis. You may recall that it was cold that day (around -7, but who's looking?) and many people decided to stay indoors (off the top of my head, almost all of you). After depositing my wife at Litespa (the Foshay tower location), I started walking the city. Now, I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid. I started outside, but eventually, as my nasal passages froze over making me breath like a Baldwin brother, I went inside and made like a hamster (or the skyway for those of you who are from Minnesota). Those of you who have never really walked the skyway are missing out. It's not the fact that you feel like a hamster or a gerbil (oh, Lemmiwinks), but the fact that you can actually see society via the skyway. For example, there was a girl dressed to be trendy. Basically, jeans with tears EVERYWHERE. Instead of going inside, she walked up Nicollet avenue in the cold. Was it so important to look good and freeze?Other examples:-I stopped at the Caribou Coffee in Gavidae Common and tried to answer the question for 10 cents off (I'm cheap). "What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Minneapolis?" I was unaware that it was Phillips (I thought it was Camden). When I answered, the four lawyers around me started arguing about what determines a neighborhood is dangerous. Let me tell you: It's always funny when lawyer says, "I object to your notion," when plainly speaking. Shows they've been on the job too long.-Watching a woman desperately try to keep me from getting on the elevator with her. As I walked up, she was slamming on the close door button over and over again. When I got my arm in and got in, she frowned. "Sorry I held you up," I forwarded. Another frown. Was she afraid of me or did she just not like the look of me?After retrieving my wife (she was happy), I began working on my house again. I love my shack. Ok, it's not shack...moving on. I had a room to paint (it's now yellow), fix some furniture, and clean, clean, clean. After that, the weekend is a haze. It feels like it was a million years ago (not a few days). That's the power of work. It takes over your life.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Movie Theater Changes:Ok, there's a bright idea out there (excuse me if your screen is now dripping with sarcasm) for getting more people to go to the movies.Ready?Ok, it's in multiple parts:1. Ticket prices will depend on how well a movie is doing. So, films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy will stay at full price, but Deuce Bigalow 3 will drop in price when no one goes to see it. The worse a film is doing, the cheaper it will become.2. You will be able to pay more to reserve seats. You want that center seat? Pay 12 dollars instead of 9 and it's yours. The downside? If you show up early and sit there, then someone reserves it, you'll have to move. 3. It will be cheaper to reserve tickets ahead of time then buying them at the box office. As a colleague of mine pointed out today, "So everyone now has a credit card?"4. Popcorn and soda will be sold only in combos. Why? That one makes NO sense. I seriously don't get it.5. Cell phone jammers will be installed in theaters. Now this is one I agree with in principle. I love that kids won't be able to text and call each other, but there needs to be a way to contact help in cases of emergency. Look, my wife put it best. "Movie theaters have a simple business practice. The movies come in, we pay to watch them, the end. So, if they start changing practices and trying to become something they aren't, the business will fail."It's sad but true.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That's all I got for tonight.More tomorrow.Peace be unto you.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Evening folks.There's no mail this week. I mean there is mail, but most of it is either hatemail (which gets boring after a while) or questions about where certain aspects of my blog have gone (which I will not be talking about anymore...nuff said).So, because I had no school today and because my wife did not have to be at work, we both relaxed today (which was hard).I'll talk about my lost weekend tomorrow during ramblings. Tonight, I'm going to have a glass of wine, finish painting one of the bedrooms, get my tests together, and go to bed.Boring? Yup.Do I care? Nope.I hope all is well with you, dear reader. Here's some cats to make the day, uh, bright. Unless you're allergic...in which case...uh...sorry.